Frequently Asked
Questions
What is a classical education?
Historically, classical education is the study of ancient Greek and Roman culture: history, philosophy, literature, and art – with explicit instruction in Greek and Latin, the two great languages of the classical world. Classical education begins with a high view of mankind and originates in the ancient belief that the fundamental purpose of education is to cultivate human excellence or virtue (arete) in young people, in order to achieve full human flourishing and a life of happiness (eudaimonia).
Classical education is the method by which the majority of history’s greatest minds were educated. It is an education rooted in the liberal arts and sciences that promotes academic excellence through a content-rich, trivium-based approach that cultivates virtue and a lifelong love of learning.
How do classical education and democracy work together?
We believe that a classical liberal arts education is essential in a democracy if citizens are to govern themselves wisely, form judgments about policies, understand the complexities of public issues, and make informed contributions to the deliberations of the republic. At Hampton Roads Classical, our students will study and cherish the legacy of the founding principles of America.
Your educational style is also described as “liberal.” What does that mean?
By liberal education we mean the artes liberales or liberal arts— an ordering and integrating of knowledge to the benefit of the free person – as contrasted with the utilitarian nature of modern education, today referred to as "career education.” The primary purpose of education is not just to prepare boys and girls for college or the job market. The goal of liberal learning is to develop right reason among young people.
What type of curriculum is taught?
We follow a distinctly classical pedagogy that teaches students how to learn through the Trivium approach of grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric. This includes a content-rich curriculum that is fundamentally rooted in the liberal arts and sciences - bolstered by a firm grasp of language and mathematics.
We embrace the principle of cultural literacy, and use a curriculum that is integrated across the subjects of English, literature, composition, mathematics, history, geography, science, Latin, music, art, and physical education. This includes the use of explicit phonics-based instruction and cursive writing, the Great Books of the Western canon, and the study of Latin at an early age as the foundation of learning the English language. Hampton Roads Classical is a Hillsdale College Curriculum School.
Do you use Common Core curriculum?
We will not purchase or use Common Core-aligned textbooks. Instead, we will design a classical curriculum that is aligned with the trivium-based approach that we use. One of the advantages of being an independent school is that we are truly free to teach a classical education because we are not beholden to state or national standards that we believe do not cultivate virtue or a lifelong love of learning in children.
What makes the Trivium an effective approach?
Mastering the tools of learning equips students with the linguistic, thinking, and rhetorical skills necessary to become a better person and a better citizen. Being skilled in logic defends against intellectual despotism because it equips a person with the ability to recognize logical fallacies that are rampant in popular culture and to engage in rigorous and constructive debate. Learning the art of rhetoric increases one’s ability to persuade through language and prepares students for effective citizenship .
What makes Hampton Roads Classical different?
We believe that the acquisition of wisdom and the cultivation of virtue are the central tasks of education. Our school ethos demands moral virtue, decorum, respect, discipline, and studiousness among the students and faculty. We are also geographically unique, in that there is no other full-time school like ours in western Hampton Roads (Isle of Wight, Suffolk, Portsmouth, and Western Branch).
What are the demonstrated results of a classical education?
Students around the nation in classical schools typically score in the top 10-15 percent on national tests like the Stanford Achievement Test and Scholastic Aptitude Test (both tests are abbreviated SAT). Established classical schools often graduate a significant proportion of National Merit Scholars (determined by PSAT scores) and students with extremely competitive SAT scores (in the top 5 percent).* Additionally, students who study Latin consistently score higher in all subject areas of standardized tests, as well as on the verbal portion of the SAT. Colleges around the nation have shown an interest in these students and have familiarized themselves with the classical approach being recovered in the United States.
What does an average school day look like?
Our school day will be structured around teacher-led direct instruction where we make the most of every educational minute. Students will be attentive to lessons, participating in discussions, and engaged in a variety of relevant activities. Our classrooms will be designed to provide the optimal atmosphere for learning; this will include bookcases that are filled with classic and other well-written literature, U.S. and world maps, and meaningful timelines.
You will not observe child-directed instruction where students are left to learn through self-discovery and group projects. Desks face the front of the room, and our students will show their respect for teachers by giving a direct response when called upon. We also value the importance of play time for children, and will have at least two recess periods per day in the lower school.
How do you cultivate virtue in students?
Our quest for the pursuit of virtuous character is anchored in the four ancient virtues of temperance (self-control), prudence (wisdom), fortitude (courage), and justice. These virtues are exemplified by teachers and expected from the students.
Is the Bible taught as part of the curriculum?
As a classical academy, we teach from the centrality of the Western tradition which includes Judeo-Christian norms and values and our curriculum is informed by the Judeo-Christian influence on the Western tradition. This will include study of the Bible, and other great world religions, for its intrinsic value, to demonstrate elements of the human condition, and for its contribution to the “Great Conversation.” We do not have a dedicated Bible class, but our students will read texts from the Bible and they will learn prayers and hymns in English and in Latin.
Is this a religious school?
We seek to nurture the child's humanity (spirit, mind, and body), but we are not a parochial school and religious instruction is not an integral part of the curriculum or daily culture of the school. We believe what the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution secures, that is, a freedom for our students to embrace, to profess, and to observe the religion which they and their families choose and believe. We also believe that matters of faith are best left between the student and their family and/or their church.
We base our reasoning to maintain a nonsectarian curriculum and philosophy in the spirit of James Madison’s Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments. Madison circulated the Memorial and Remonstrance in 1785 as part of the effort to pass the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. It emphasizes a civil society in which people of different faiths could maintain their beliefs according to their own consciences, and appeals to all citizens based on reason.
That being said, we are not a secular school. We believe in our national motto “In God We Trust” and the words written in the Declaration of Independence, “that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” The role of our faculty is neither that of preacher nor of skeptic and when teaching about religion in history or literature, we will neither advocate nor undermine religion in general or any specific faith.
How will you teach about creation?
We teach from the perspective that the complexities and wonder of the natural world originated with our Creator. We acknowledge what the American Founders believed, that we “are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.” Over the course of their education, our students will learn about and read the creation account in Genesis as a part of the historical narrative that comes from the Bible. First, because teaching this account is an important part of developing the student’s cultural literacy. Second, because it is part of the “Great Conversation” of the Western and Judeo-Christian heritage. However, we do not address this account as holy writ. We also teach other accounts of creation that have originated in various cultures throughout history. In science, we teach about the theory of evolution from two perspectives. First, that it is just that, a theory, but also because there is scientific evidence at the micro-level that species have changed or evolved over time since creation.
Does Classical Education include Math and Science (STEM)?
Yes, classical education includes the study of both word and number. The seven liberal arts traditionally included not only grammar, logic, and rhetoric, but also arithmetic (math – the study of number), geometry (the study of number and space), music (study of number and time), and astronomy (study of number, space and time). This helps develop a more well-rounded person without exclusively focusing on either the humanities or just science and math. Students will take science and math courses every year, eventually including advanced subjects like geometry, calculus, and physics in the upper school.
What are some examples of “classic” literature that students will read?
Younger children will read classic books like Charlotte’s Web, Robin Hood, The Wind in the Willows, and Huckleberry Finn. Older students will read The Iliad and The Odyssey, Aristotle’s Nichomacean Ethics, Augustine’s Confessions, and authors who influenced our founders like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Montesquieu; as well as great speeches from Patrick Henry, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglas, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr., and Ronald Reagan.
Do students wear uniforms?
Yes. Students at our school wear uniforms as a means to display personal pride in their appearance, promote school spirit, exhibit a standard of excellence, and cultivate a school culture conducive to serious study. Uniforms are designed to eliminate the distraction from learning. It levels the playing field so all students are recognized for who they are and not what they wear. Lower school students wear jumpers/skirts or pants/shorts with polos; upper school students will wear pants and skirts with button shirts, as well as jackets and ties on occasion.
Do you offer lunch?
We do not offer a full lunch service. The contract with families will include the stipulation that parents will provide a packed lunch each day. Students will eat in a designated area in the facility or outdoors when the weather is nice.
Do you offer transportation?
We do not offer a transportation service for families. The contract with families will include the stipulation that parents will provide transportation to and from school and that, if determined, parents will also volunteer to car pool students to and from field trips. However, many of our families carpool from as far away as Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Portsmouth, and Norfolk, so let us know and we will put you in touch with another family that may be willing to carpool with yours.
Do you offer before and after school care?
We are not a licensed childcare facility. However, we do have before and after school programs that will allow you to drop your child off early or pick them up after the school day. Please contact us for more information about these options to see if they work with your schedule.